


Penny Parker One-Shots and Short Stories

by WritersBlock_Liz



Series: Penny Parker 2020 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, One Shot Collection, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26175526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersBlock_Liz/pseuds/WritersBlock_Liz
Summary: A collection of one-shots and short stories centered around Penny Parker (female Peter Parker) and her life with the people closest to her. Will range from fluff to angst to hurt to comfort to whatever else there is.If you have ideas for more stories I'm always open to suggestions. No incest or Penny/Tony or any other grown up please. This is NOT a Starker writer!
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Shuri, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Penny Parker 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900864
Comments: 4
Kudos: 96





	Penny Parker One-Shots and Short Stories

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this is the first time I'm posting on this site so I'm still getting used to formats and settings and all that but I still hope you enjoy this collection of stories about Penny, her life with Tony and various other people and all the adventures she's getting into on a daily basis.  
> Love, Liz

### Story One: The Spider-Verse

The sun was beginning to set behind storm clouds coming in from the sea and Penny took a deep breath, tasting the slight hint of salt on the breeze.  
From her perched position on top of a skyscraper near downtown, she surveyed her immediate surroundings for anything and anyone that might need Spider-Girls help.  
_“Penny, you have an incoming message from Mr. Stark.” Karen informed her cheerfully._ “Read it to me, will you?” Penny asked her AI, continuing to keep a lookout.  
_“Of course, Penny. Mr. Stark writes: Hey kiddo, just wanted to remind you that we’re all having dinner tonight at eight so keep that in mind with your patrol. See you later.”_ Penny shook her head. “Like I could forget. He’s been all over me for this dinner for weeks. What the hell is so important anyway? It’s just a normal Wednesday.” she muttered.  
_“Would you like me to send that as a response to Mr. Starks text?” Karen asked._ “God no! Tell him that I haven’t forgotten and that I will be there, on the dot.”  
_“Message sent.” Karen confirmed._ “Thank you. Now let’s see what New York is up to.”  
.  
She spent a couple of hours just swinging around the city.  
She helped two teenagers catch a dog who had gotten lose from his leash, gave directions to Korean tourists, helped a lady carry her groceries up six flights of stairs, caught a pocket-thief trying to relief a man of his wallet and after that she spent almost an hour in front of a kinder-garden playground, doing tricks for the cheering kids inside.  
It was when she was just turning around, waving goodbye to the kids, that Karen spoke softly into her ear.  
_“Penny, I am detecting disturbances in the magnetic fields of the city a few blocks from here. I recommend you investigate what that is all about.”_ “Lead the way Karen.” she said immediately, already shooting a web at the nearest building and pulling herself up.  
.  
Karen let her towards a calmer, more residential part of the city where there was not much happening at the moment.  
_“Down the alley and to the right” Karen informed her “My scanners are unable to make sense of what is happening. Visual confirmation is required.”_ “Alright then.” Penny mumbled and dropped into the alley.  
Visual confirmation indeed.  
Right there, in the middle of the alley between two houses, hidden by trash-cans and fire-stairs was a mesmerizing swirling bioluminescent vortex, just sitting there, swirling calmly like a tiny galaxy.  
“Whoa!” Penny muttered, approaching carefully.  
The vortex was about as tall and wide as she was with an oblong shape and it seemed to pulsate slightly but Penny could still see through it to the other side of the alley.  
“This is so cool. Karen could you figure out what it is yet?” she wondered.  
Amazed she watched as the drag of the vortex picked up an empty plastic trash bag and sucked it gently into its centre.  
She walked around it, expecting the bag to appear on the other side but nothing! The bag was gone!  
“That is beyond cool. Is it like a portal?” she wondered.  
But she got no answer.  
“Karen? Karen are you there?” she asked, checking the displays inside of her mask.  
“Karen?”  
Only a slight static sound.  
“It must be messing with …”  
Then, all of a sudden, the static burst and Penny winced as broken pieces of Karen's voice penetrated her ears.  
_“Penny...unstable…the anomaly...drag...stronger…careful… contact…Stark!”_ The message was incomprehensible but the tone was clear. Karen was almost frantic.  
A small phone icon popped up on her HUD.  
Karen was attempting to contact Mr. Stark.  
“Karen, it's fine, this thing is harmless!” she said, walking back around the vortex to its front.  
She took a small step closer and carefully reached out her hand until it was inches away from the swirling mass.  
She could feel it's slight pull on her. It almost tickled. She laughed.  
The phone icon on her display disappeared and was replaced by the words **‘Failed Connection’.** She gently pulled her hand back and laughed, when she felt the pull increase, as if it was trying to pull her hand back.  
But she stopped laughing, when suddenly the pull increased tenfold and she stumbled, her hand disappearing inside the vortex!  
It had a tight grip on her hand, almost like a magnet. It was unnerving seeing through the thing but not being able to see your hand! Where was it?  
“Karen! What is happening!” she shouted, desperately trying to pull her hand out.  
Nothing but static.  
She pulled harder, bracing her feet against the ground, using all the spider-power she could muster.  
But nothing.  
It was like struggling in quick-sand. The more she moved, the harder it pulled her in.  
Until she lost her footing and went flying head first into the Vortex and into darkness.  
.  
.  
.  
With a startled yelp, Penny crashed into an open trash container.  
It wouldn’t be the first time.  
Luckily for her at least this one wasn’t the trash container behind a fish-restaurant and she didn’t land in the chum like she had a few weeks ago.  
She got to her knees, groaning and gripped the edge of the container to pull herself up.  
Her head spun and she just so managed to pull up the bottom of her mask before she threw up.  
Ew.  
Wiping her mouth with the back of her gloved hand, she looked up and around.  
This was definitely not the alley she had been in a few seconds ago.  
No, this alley let out onto a bright busy and colourful street.  
She saw hundreds of cars and bright yellow cabs passing in front of it, along with thongs of people.  
Good, not Queens but at least she was still in New York.  
She got out of the container and brushed off her suit.  
“Karen? Are you there?”  
She looked around.  
No swirling blue vortex anywhere around her.  
Good.  
She wasn’t too keen on repeating that experience.  
“Karen? Hello?” she tapped the side of her ear where Karen usually talked to her.  
Nothing. Not even static.  
She checked her displays.  
Most were still running. She had broken one web-shooter when she had fallen.  
But most prominently was the missing connection to the Stark Satellite.  
That should be impossible.  
Tony had built that satellite so that even if you ever found yourself in the middle of the Amazonas of the Sahara or in the Mariana Trench, you would still have connection and reception!  
A bad feeling settled in her stomach. This could not mean anything good.  
“Okay Penny, first things first. Get home, deal with freaky portals later.” she told herself.  
She hurried to the mouth of the alley and looked around.  
“Oh, Times Square. Nice.” she muttered as the familiarity of the place swarmed her senses.  
“That means Stark Tower is right…”  
She turned, like she had a hundred times before, expecting to see the familiar outline of Stark Industries or Stark Tower, but...nothing.  
Where the skyscraper with its unique silhouette usually stood among the other buildings that made up New York's skyline, was...nothing!  
Penny shook her head. Okay, maybe she had a concussion.  
She turned around, trying to see if maybe she had turned the wrong way.  
But nothing.  
Panic welled up inside of her and she dashed back into the alley, past the container she had landed in and webbed herself up towards the roof of the nearest skyscraper.  
She landed, breathing heavily and turned around in circles, frantically searching for that familiar sight.  
Nothing.  
Nowhere.  
But no, that wasn’t right either.  
There was a silhouette.  
One that shouldn’t be there.  
There, down south the island was the outline of two buildings that she shouldn't be able to see.  
Oh sure, she had seen pictures and as a born New Yorker she had lived with that history, even though she’d only been a year old when it had all come crashing down.  
There, standing tall and proud like nothing had ever happened, stood the unmistakable outline of the Twin Towers.  
Penny promptly threw up once more.  
.  
.  
.  
_I’m in a different universe. Or a parallel dimension. Or another earth in the multiverse._ That thought played on repeat as Penny walked through the city, her eyes roaming over every building and every landmark.  
She shook her head and pulled the coat she had found and put over her suit to conceal her identity closer.  
While it was true that she stuck to patrolling Queens mostly, Penny had ventured into New York City a lot as well and had taken to patrolling there on occasion as well.  
She was very familiar with the city and the burrows.  
But this was not her New York.  
Most changes were subtle.  
The Holland Tunnel was now the Holland Bridge.  
The Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building stood side by side only three blocks apart.  
M&M’s were called N&N’s in this world. The store looked exactly the same, just the logo had changed.  
Central Park had moved up a couple of blocks as well, staring not on W59th Str. but on E 68th Str.!  
A billboard in Times Square had proclaimed the beginning of Michael Jackson's World Tour, so he was still alive. But there had been an obituary for Brad Pitt in one of Newspapers she had fished out of the trash.  
And her world-famous 5th Avenue for some reason was the world-famous 6th Avenue? Oh, and McDonalds was no McRonalds.  
It all felt a bit like a dream where reality had been slightly distorted. Not really in a bad way but more in an annoying way. Like when May had reorganized their kitchen and for a week Penny hadn’t been able to find anything!  
That's how it felt walking through this version of New York. She should know this! But sometimes she would take a turn, expecting an intersection or a train station and it would be there.  
At least May had conceded and put a few things back into their original space, so Penny had at least a chance.  
There were no putting things the way they were here because they had always been like this here!  
God, her headache was getting worse.  
The thought of May had her stop in her tracks.  
May...was she here? Was she a part of this universe as well?  
A sudden longing to see her aunt overcame her and without stopping to think about it, Penny dashed upwards and towards their apartment.  
.  
Their apartment didn’t exist. In fact, the entire building they lived in didn’t exist. Their block didn’t exist. Where their home should be was a small park with a lake full of swans and a small bodega at the corner.  
The bodega turned out to be Delmar’s.  
Hope blossomed in Penny’s chest and she swung downwards.  
Despite the sun setting further and further, Delmar’s was still open.  
Hesitantly she walked inside, well aware that she probably looked like a homeless teen in her dirty oversized coat.  
Mr. Delmar looked exactly like he had this morning in her universe.  
“Hello. What can I do for you?” he asked, when he saw her.  
Her eyes shot to the board above his head and she felt an irrational swell of tears forming when she read the menu.  
“Ahm…a Nr. 5 please. And if you can with extra pickles.” she whispered.  
“Sure thing girl. Anything else. You wanna eat this here?”  
“Yes please. And no, that's all.” she replied.  
“Alright, take a seat, I’ll bring you your sandwich.”  
.  
It was almost surreal munching on a sandwich that tasted exactly like the one she had had yesterday, served by the same man, and yet it was nothing like that because this Mr. Delmar didn’t know her, didn’t ask her about her aunt and her grades and what she was doing this weekend. This Mr. Delmar didn’t know her and instead of a cat he owned a parrot named Murph.  
“You good?” Mr. Delmar asked next to her and Penny jumped, having been so absorbed in her musings.  
He put a bottle of coke down in front of her.  
“I... I didn’t order that.” she wondered.  
“It’s on the house. You look like you had a rough day.” he said, waving aside her protest.  
“Thank you.” she whispered, taking a sip.  
“Do I know you? You seem familiar?” Mr. Delmar asked.  
For a second Penny wondered if there was a version of her living round here and if that could be a problem for...she didn’t know...the Timeline- continuum? The integrity of the Multiverse? Who knew…?  
“Ahm...I used to live around here with my aunt and uncle.” she said instead.  
It wasn't exactly a lie.  
“That's it.” Mr. Delmar agreed and walked back towards the counter.  
Just then Penny realized something.  
After Ben had died, she and May had moved here, to their current apartment. Or where their apartment was in her New York. But maybe their old apartment was still there! And maybe May was there.  
And maybe even Ben.  
That thought hit her like a train.  
Ben.  
He could very well be alive in the universe.  
So could her parents.  
On the other hand, that meant other people could be dead.  
Like Mr. Stark.  
Was that the reason there was a Stark Tower here? Was Mr. Stark dead? had he ever existed to begin with?  
She felt her heartbeat speed up and the sandwich in her stomach threatened to make a comeback.  
“Hey, Chica, you good over there?”  
She pulled herself together and smiled faintly at Mr. Delmar.  
“Yes, thanks for asking sir.”  
He frowned at her. “Listen...not that it is my business or anything but...are you in trouble? Cause if you are...maybe...I don’t know...is there someone I can call? You shouldn’t be out here alone so late.”  
She forced a smile onto her face. “Oh no, I’m fine, really. I just got lost and decided to go somewhere I know to orientate myself” she pulled out her phone (which wasn’t working mind you) and added: “I’m calling my aunt to pick me up, now that I know where I am. But thanks for the offer. I appreciate it.”  
He didn’t look convinced but probably also knew there was little he could do.  
So instead he reached first into the freezer behind him and then under the counter and handed her a bottle of water and a scarf.  
“Here, take this at least, it’s gonna be cold tonight.”  
Penny blushed but took the items thankfully.  
“Thank you so much Mr. Delmar.” she said, before heading out of the store. She wrapped the scarf around her head and lower face and when she was out of sight she jumped, shooting a web to take her up towards the roofs.  
.  
Their old apartment building was there and an avalanche of memories assaulted her the second she set eyes on it.  
Like the night when her parents had left her here, only for them to die in a plane crash hours later.  
Or when Ben had taught her to ride a bike on the walkway in front of it.  
Or how she had stormed out after their argument. And how Ben had died not an hour later.  
She wiped the tears away. This was all so strange.  
She jumped over to the building and began scaling up the side of it until she reached their old apartment.  
Carefully she peeked through the window into the lit living room.  
The sight took her breath away.  
There were Ben and May, together, sitting on the couch, watching some TV-Drama.  
They were cuddling, sharing a blanket and laughed at whatever was happening on TV.  
They looked younger and Ben...Ben was alive!  
Penny had almost forgotten what he had been like with his wild hand movements and tousled hair.  
Pictures could never really catch what an active person he had been.  
A lump formed in her throat and she averted her gaze.  
She should leave before her presence caused them any harm.  
But she took one last look.  
Gently, she placed her hand against the glass, staring at the two people who had given their everything for her.  
“I love you. And thank you.” she whispered, before pushing herself off the wall, flying towards the next building and made her way back towards the city.  
.  
.  
.  
With her legs dangling over the edge of another skyscraper, sipping from the water bottle, Penny contemplated her next steps.  
She had to go home.  
But how? Was the anomaly that had sent her here still out there? Could it take her back? or would it just dispose of her in another reality?  
But most importantly of all...did Mr. Stark know she was gone?  
She was supposed to come to a family dinner at eight. Here, in this dimension it was long after eight. More like midnight, actually. But did time flow the same here as it did in her world? Was it even the same date?  
She had no idea.  
But surely, he must have noticed her disappearance. Maybe he could retrace her steps, maybe he could help her, safe her.  
Penny didn’t often feel helpless. But this was one of those times.  
With one web-shooter broken and the other rapidly draining of web-fluid she would soon be forced to turn to alternative modes of transport.  
Also, she had next to no money.  
The situation was less than ideal.  
But so far, the anomaly was her only lead.  
She got up and stretched.  
With some luck it was till where she had found it and hopefully it would take her home.  
Her mind made up, she launched herself off the building and into the night.  
.  
.  
She dropped into the alley and looked around.  
No swirling vortex, nothing.  
Just trash cans, lots of loose trash and rats.  
Frustrated and with her last line of hope dwindling, Penny kicked a bunch of trash aside.  
A McDonalds plastic bag got stuck to her foot and she huffed annoyed, trying to get it to un-stuck.  
Wait...McDonalds?  
It was McRonalds here! She had seen a couple of the fast food chain during her excursion in the city.  
But the bag on her foot clearly read McDonalds!  
She remembered the plastic bag the vortex had sucked in before here. That must have been this bag!  
She let out a squeak of excitement.  
This piece of trash was from her home! her universe...or whatever it was…  
She picked the bag up and held it up.  
Before her face.  
It had been here. The vortex had been here! Maybe it would come back! Maybe, if she waited here, it would re-appear!  
But then why had it dumped her near Times Square and not here?  
Her musings were interrupted by a voice behind her calling out: “Hey! Who is in there? Come out! This is private property!”  
She swirled around and saw a man approach.  
Big with no hair on his head and a baseball bat in hand.  
“Shit.” she muttered. Could she talk herself out of this? Or should she just make a run for it?  
She decided to make a run for it, jumping upwards and scaling the side of the house towards the roof.  
Behind her she heard the man curse and run towards her but she was faster and the next second she was gone.  
.  
She didn’t go far, just a couple of streets. She wanted to stay close so that she could go back in a couple of hours and see if the portal would return.  
She settled down on the flat roof of an apartment complex, shielded against the wind by the chimneys and stared at the sky.  
The moon was almost full, missing maybe another night or two to reach his complete size.  
There were little stars to be seen. The light from the city hid them from sight.  
But Penny could see them with her enhanced senses.  
She missed Karen. She would have liked to speak with someone.  
.  
She must have dozed off because she startled awake at the sound of a gunshot.  
It was an unmistakable sound for her.  
It was a noise ingrained in her brain.  
She jumped to her feet and was on the edge of the building a split-second later.  
Her sense found the commotion immediately.  
Two groups of young men, facing off in the streets below.  
Despite the gunshot nobody seemed injured just yet but it was clear that the situation was spiralling out of control fast!  
As she observed, calculating as to how she should approach this...a strange feeling overcame her.  
It was like her spider-sense...except it had never felt like this.  
It was like every molecule of her body had started vibrating at a different frequency. It was painful or anything, just strange...familiar...but also strange in its familiarity.  
Another shot from the street below brought her back to the present.  
Things had escalated.  
One guy was on the ground, a second, a third and a fourth shot rang through the night and then the men were on top of each other, punching and kicking.  
Penny saw the flash of blades and knew that this would end in mass casualties if she didn’t step in.  
She swung downwards, timing it just right that she collided with a man about to shoot another one in the back.  
Both he and the gun went flying.  
“What the fuck, who is this?” she heard someone shout.  
“Fucking mutant!” she heard another one.  
Apparently, she had succeeded in getting them off each other's throats. Unfortunately, they were now all ganging up on her.  
Her normal spider sense flared up and she ducked, kicking backwards and upwards, catching another guy in the throat, lifting him off his feet before he crashed to the ground as well, choking.  
“What, did I take your breath away?” she asked, dodging another punch.  
She shot a web at the guy, yanking him towards her and into two other goons.  
“She’s one of the Spider-freaks!” one guy growled.  
Plural? Spider-Freaks? One of?  
Penny had no chance to dwell on it because her spider sense flared up, painfully this time and instinctively she turned her head ever so slightly to the right.  
It was the only reason the bullet only grazed her ear and did not smash through her skull.  
Her ear was ringing.  
That and her heartbeat and laboured breathing was all she could hear for a few seconds.  
That had been too close to comfort.  
Her eyes found the guy who had tried to shoot her.  
His hand with the gun in it was still raised and she saw how his trigger finger began to move. He was going to shoot her again.  
_Move_ , a voice that sounded vaguely like Mr. Stark and May combined, screamed at her.   
But as she watched him pull the trigger, from the side something white came flying.  
It hit the man's hand and suddenly his arm was yanked upwards.  
A shot rang out but it was lost in the dark.  
The something white was a web.  
A spider web.  
Like hers.  
Her eyes traced the web to its owner, the person who had shot it and probably saved her life by doing so.  
There, crouching on top of a streetlamp was a figure clad in black and red with a spider-symbol on their chest and a mask covering their face.  
It wasn’t like looking in a mirror. But as she looked at them that feeling she had had on the roof, that strange familiar tingling of her atoms, returned.  
The other Spider didn’t seem affected.  
They launched themselves off the streetlamp and joined the fight.  
Penny mind managed to catch up as well and pushing all her questions aside for now she too continued rounding up the men.  
.  
It was one of the most bizarre fights Penny had ever had.  
It didn’t last long. With the newcomer they had the guys disarmed and hogtied on the sidewalk in no time.  
But during the entire time they fought together, Penny felt like she was fighting alongside someone she had known for ages.  
Without looking she could sense where they were and what they were doing, where they were going to shoot their next web…  
They moved in harmony around and with each other, having each other back without even thinking about it.  
And then the fight was over, police sirens were coming closer and Penny stood there, staring at the Spider.  
“You’re like me!” she said, breathing hard.  
“I am. And you are like me. I thought I felt the portal open but I wasn’t too sure. And I thought that it would be Gwen or Peter coming through, not someone new.”  
They sounded male but Penny had no way of being sure.  
“Come on, I’m sure you have a lot of questions. But let's do that somewhere more private.” they added, gesturing towards the nearest roof.  
Not really feeling like it was much of a choice, Penny nodded and followed him.  
.  
.  
Once more, Penny ended up on another skyscraper's roof but this time she wasn’t alone.  
The other spider was already there, waiting for her, when she landed in a crouch.  
Slowly, Penny got up.  
For a moment they just looked at each other and once more the tingling overcame her.  
Now that she had a better view of them, she noticed that their spider suit was different and yet also eerily familiar.  
Like hers, their colours were black and red but where hers were more balanced, theirs were mostly black with red accents here and there. Also, they wore a sweat-jacket and converse over the actual suit and their web shooters were more exposed than hers.  
“Okay, yeah, hi, so...I’m Miles...Miles Morales.” they said and Penny watched as they pulled off their mask.  
Miles was a young African Latino boy with dark skinned a wild afro that stood up in all directions, atypical sign of mask-hair, and overall, he was about her size, which meant tiny, a lanky built and he had a crooked grin that was kind of endearing.  
She pulled off her own mask, shaking out her wavy chin length hair.  
“Hi Miles. My name is Penny. Penny Parker. And... I think I’m in the wrong universe.”  
Miles laughed. “Oh, yeah, you could say that. But don't worry, you are not the first. Come on, I’ll explain everything.”  
.  
Miles told her everything. From Peter Parker's death in this universe and Miles spider bite, to Fisk Wilsons portal between universes to kidnap his family from another dimension to various versions of Spider-Man falling into his dimension to the death of Miles’ uncle Aaron to the spiders battling it out with Fisk to them going home to their own dimensions.  
“We assumed that there were more spiders out there. And we built a way for us to reach each other if we ever needed help in our worlds. But I guess something went wrong and you were dragged here by accident.” he finished his explanation.  
Penny closed her eyes, taking it all in, sorting through this new bout of information.  
“Can you take me home?” she finally asked.  
Miles grinned. “Yeah. But not right now though. You look dead on your feet; I’m starving and there’s a few things I need to collect before we can do that. Think you can hold out one more night here?”  
Penny hesitated. “I have nowhere to stay and no money.” she admitted.  
“No problem at all! You can stay in my dorm. My roommate had to go home for a funeral, he won’t be back till the end of the week so I have the dorm to myself.”  
“Dorm?”  
.  
As it turned out Miles went to an elite school for geniuses called Vision Academy.  
It was a highly polished technological masterpiece and reminded Penny somewhat of her own school Midtown Tech.  
They snuck inside through the windows.  
As Miles checked to see that nobody had noticed their arrival, Penny looked around.  
It looked like a standard dorm with a bunk bed, two desks, two closets and an ensuite bathroom.  
But since two fifteen-year olds inhabited the space, it was messy and the smell was also somewhat bad.  
Miles must have noticed because he tore open the windows and started kicking stuff on the ground under the bed.  
“So yeah, bathroom is through there and here” he opened his closet and handed her a pair of sweat-pants and a t-shirt “If you want you can shower and change clothes.”  
“Thanks Miles.” she said gratefully.  
.  
The shower was good. Even heavenly.  
She bandaged her ear that had been grazed by the bullet best she could. It would have healed in a couple of hours but she didn’t want to bleed on Miles’ stuff.  
She washed her suit in the sink and hung on the door to dry before joining Miles back in the room.  
He had produced food from somewhere and while he went to shower, she devoured the sandwich he had handed her.  
When he was done, they sat in silence for a while.  
Finally, Miles sat up and asked cheerfully: “Sooooo... what’s your story?”  
Penny frowned. “My story?” she asked.  
“How did you become…” he gestured at her “You know… Spider Girl.”  
“Oh...that….”  
Like he had before her, she told him her story. How she had gotten bitten, how her uncle had died and all that up until she had stumbled into that portal in the alley.  
“It's weird, right? The others too were confused by how similar and yet totally different this place is. Maybe one day I can come to one of your dimensions and see it for myself.”  
She laughed slightly. “Yeah, maybe you should.”  
Then she sighed, her thoughts travelling to Tony and May, and everybody else. Her family.  
“Hey, I’ll get you home, no problem! I promise.” Miles said quietly.  
“No, I know. I’m just worried. Because they will be worried and I hate it when they worry about me. It makes me feel rotten.”  
“Yeah, I get that. I’m glad my parents don’t know.” he confessed.  
“I don’t know if it was easier or not before May knew. I know she worried then too. But I think now that she knows the truth she worries more. Christ, I don’t think Mr. Stark will ever let me leave the house again if accidentally being sucked into different universes is a thing that can happen at random.”  
Miles chuckled. “Yeah, parents are like that.” he admitted.  
Penny blushed.  
“Mr. Stark is not my father.”  
“But he might as well be from what you told me.” he offered.  
Penny didn’t respond to that.  
Truth be told, Miles was right. Mr. Stark was becoming more and more like her father every day.  
“Well, it’s getting late. I changed the sheets; you can have my bed. I’ll take the other.”  
“Thanks Miles.”  
“No problem Penny.”  
The second her head hit the pillow Penny was asleep.  
.  
Miles was a mess in the morning.  
Not unlike her.  
The alarm went off and the next second it was flying through the room.  
Miles got up, groaning and moaning about it being too early.  
“What’s going on?” Penny asked through a yawn.  
“I have school.” Miles grumbled, as he pulled on his school uniform.  
Penny sat up. “Do I need to leave.” she asked.  
“Naw, today is a short day anyway. I’ll be out by one o’clock, I think. You can stay here if you want. There’s more food in the mini-fridge under my desk. If you want to go out take the window but make sure nobody sees you. And nobody will come in here anyway. Let’s meet here at one so we can get you home.”  
“Yeah, okay.”  
He plucked a pile of books and loose papers from his desk before heading to the door.  
“See you later.”  
“See you later Miles, have a nice day.”  
He laughed. “Thanks. Bye!”  
.  
Penny slept for another two or three hours before she got up and had something to eat.  
She risked a glance out the window while she chewed on her toast.  
Below her the campus of Vision Academy was splayed out and she watched the hundreds of students come and go.  
She didn’t really feel like going out there, into this somewhat alien world, so she settled down in front of Miles' computer and began searching the web.  
She found out that Tony Stark was indeed alive in this universe but he was also a teenager, his father was still alive and he wasn’t Iron Man. A teenage Tony. Now that was something she would have loved to see.  
There were no Avengers at all. There were superheroes but none of which she knew.  
There was no SHIELD as far as she could see and no Hydra.  
Time flew by as she researched this Universe and before she knew it there was a knock on the door and Miles' voice called out: “Penny? It’s me, I’m coming in.”  
She looked up and saw him closing the door behind him.  
Seeing her on the laptop he asked: “What are you doing?”  
“Just doing a bit of research on this place. I hope it was okay for me to use your computer?”  
“Yeah sure. So, what do you say? Yay or nay in this place?”  
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, you have no Avengers and no Dunkin Doughnuts from what I can tell. But you do have Michael Jackson and John Mulaney so I think it's half and half. But I still want to go home.”  
He laughed. “Yeah, can’t argue with that.” he admitted.  
He got changed and Penny folded her suit up, stashing it in a backpack Miles lent her.  
“We’ll have to go there the old-fashioned way. Two Spiders at once in New York again will cause the wrong kind of attention. Plus, this way I get to show you my favourite lunch spot. Come on.”  
.  
After sneaking out of the academy unnoticed, they had lunch at a small Mexican restaurant that was apparently run by a cousin of Miles’ mother, before they made their way on foot downtown. Miles bought her a huge ice-cream cone from a place that didn’t exist in her universe but sold an amazing banana-split and they continued on.  
By daylight the changes seemed more prominent and the skyline was all wrong to Penny.  
But Miles was a welcome distraction.  
He was smart and funny and warm and the more she spoke with him, the more the feeling of knowing him intensified.  
Maybe it was a spider thing, maybe something else. But she trusted him. She felt safe. She felt connected to him.  
They were walking and talking, Miles in the middle of telling her a joke, when behind them the familiar ‘Whop-whop’ of a police siren caught them by surprise.  
Penny swirled around, expecting officers to arrest them but that was not the case.  
A single patrol car had pulled up on the burb next to them with one police man inside.  
“Oh no.” she heard Miles groan next to her.  
Immediately she readied her web-shooters.  
The cop got out of the car and took off his sunglasses.  
“Well well well, it is true what they say. The little bird is fleeing the nest.” he said, shaking his head slightly.  
Miles groaned again. “I’m allowed outside the Academy after school’s out!” he protested.  
“Still doesn’t explain what you are doing on the other side of the city when you were supposed to be home an hour ago.” the cop said.  
“And I told you, that I couldn't make it. I’m busy.” Miles shot back.  
Penny was confused but relaxed her wrists. Apparently, there was no need for web-shooters.  
For the first time since his arrival the cop looked at Penny.  
“Yeah, I can see that. I almost didn’t believe it when your tia told me you were out with a girl. Is this a date? Did you stand me up for a date?”  
Now there was a teasing undertone.  
Penny was still confused.  
“Oh my god DAD! Does our family have nothing better to do than gossip?” Miles groaned.  
Penny was less confused now. This made sense.  
“It’s not what you think it is!” her fellow spider added  
“Is it though? Because as I see it, you’re here frolicking with some girl I don’t even know, eating ice cream, instead of hanging out with your old man and your mom on one of the few afternoons you don’t have school.”  
“Hey, you were the one who wanted me to go to Vision Academy, you knew that meant less time home. And this is not a date. This is Penny, she’s a friend of a friend visiting New York for the first time. She needed help getting directions home, so I offered to walk her.”  
Penny waved. “Hello.” she muttered.  
“Right…” Miles’ father drawled.  
“Oh my god dad, don’t be embarrassing.” Miles pleaded.  
His father let out a bellowing laugh and approached them.  
He held out his hand to Penny.  
“Jefferson Morales. Miles’ father.” he introduced himself.  
“Penny Parker. Pleasure to meet you sir.” she replied, shaking his hand.  
“Parker? Any relationship to Peter Parker?”  
“The Spider-Man guy who died?” Penny asked innocently. “No, but I do get asked that a lot.”  
Jefferson nodded.  
“Great, so now you know her and now we need to get going because Penny is being expected at home and we don’t want to keep them waiting, do we Penny?” Miles cut between them, pushing Penny gently away from his father and down the street where they were headed.  
“Alright, alright, I’m leaving too. See you at dinner tonight Miles. It was nice meeting you Penny!” Jefferson called after them.  
“You too sir. Bye!”  
Miles' father got back into his car, turned and drove off in the opposite direction.  
Only when he was out of sight did Miles let out a sigh.  
“Your dad is funny.” Penny remarked.  
“Yeah, well, don’t tell him, he’ll get a big head.” Miles grumbled.  
.  
.  
Miles let her into an underground cavern where a gigantic construction took up a room the size of Madison Square Garden.  
“Whoa….” Penny breathed as they walked over the reflector panels lining the ground.  
“Yeah, this thing caused quite the mayhem but we got it stabilized and operating just right. Well...most times anyway. Sometimes the lines between universes get blurry and a portal opens on its own, like with you. But with this baby sending everybody back is no problem anymore.”  
Penny nodded. “And you can send me to my universe, right? Not another one.”  
“Yeah, your DNA is specific to you and your universe so you will automatically be transported to the right one.” he assured her.  
He pulled out what looked like a metal bracelet.  
“Listen Penny, I know we’ve only known each other for a day but...I feel connected to you and we made one hell of a team back there. So... if you ever need me...this bracelet can activate a portal for you to come by on your own terms, should you ever need me. Or if you just want to drop by and say hi.”  
“Wow...Miles...that is...thanks. I... I will. Same goes for you. We’re spider-siblings. If you ever need my help, you can count on me. Just give me time to warn Tony.” she said, slipping the bracelet into the backpack next to her suit.  
He laughed with her. “Yeah, thanks Penny.”  
He took a few steps backwards and pulled out a small remote.  
“Have a safe trip home Penny.”  
“Thanks for your help Miles.”  
He pressed a few buttons and above her on the ceiling a familiar blue swirling vortex appeared.  
“Bye Miles.”  
“By Pen!”  
Then she jumped, right into the centre of the vortex.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
And then she was falling.  
Face first.  
Towards a garbage container.  
_Is this a metaphor for my life? Is the universe trying to tell me something_ , she thought, before crashing into the closed metal lid of said container.  
Pain shot up through her arm and she rolled off the container, crashing into the hard concrete below.  
She lay there on her back for a few minutes, catching her breath. Thankfully nobody had noticed her crash.  
Her arm was throbbing. Her head hurt and she felt sick.  
Painfully she rolled over and threw up in the gutter.  
She had to work on her inter-dimension-universe-whatever-hopping-skills.  
She rolled back onto her back and stared at the sky. The sun was high up and a warm breeze played with her hair.  
Then, her ears picked up a familiar voice.  
Using her good arm but staying where she was on the ground, she finished her mask out of the backpack and pulled it on.  
“Karen?” she asked “Are you there?”  
_“Penny, it is good to hear your voice again. I have contacted Mr. Stark. His arrival should be eminent. I’m also detecting injuries.”_ “Okay...yeah...I fell and landed on my arm. I think it's broken. But you didn’t have to call Mr. Stark for that Karen.”  
Her AI was quiet for a second before she said: _“Penny, you have been missing for five days. The suit's signal went off grid on Wednesday in the late afternoon and could not be found anywhere on earth. Mr. Stark and the others have launched a city-wide manhunt for you, both Penny Parker and Spider-Girl.”_ “Five days? Karen that must be wrong, I was gone for maybe one day, not five!”  
_“I assure you Penny, today is Monday, the eleventh of August.”_ Penny stared dumbfounded at the sky.  
“So... I missed my birthday?”  
_“Yes Penny, you have missed your birthday.”_ “Man” she whined, “Ned and I wanted to do a Star Wars marathon. The old and the new ones all together.”  
_“I’m sure you can still do that. Detecting the Iron Armour’s approach. ETA: twenty seconds.”_ Penny could hear it, the familiar sound of Mr. Stark repulsors coming closer.  
She rolled over onto her side, and pulled off her mask just as he landed with a reverberating **‘CLANG’** on the ground at the entry to the alley.  
She pushed herself up on her good arm into a sitting position.  
The armour opened up and Mr. Stark all but jumped out, dashing towards her.  
He was wearing a suit instead of the usual under armour which meant he had been doing something else when he had stepped into the armour.  
“Oh my god Penny!” he shouted and fell to his knees next to her.  
“Hey Mr. Stark.” she mumbled, not sure what to say or how to explain what had happened.  
“Sorry for missing dinner. But I swear it wasn’t my fault. Not entirely.”  
.  
.  
.  
An hour later found Penny resting on the couch in the penthouse living room, her broken arm in a sling before her body.  
She had buried herself in the many pillows and blankets and watched through half lidded eyes as Tony put out phone call after phone call.  
She fiddled with the metal bracelet Miles had given her. Twenty-Four hours ago, the wildest think she had thought possible was time-travel. But now she could add traveling between dimensions to that list.  
“Hey Pen, are you okay? Are the painkillers working?” Tony asked, as he approached, phone sliding into his pocket.  
She nodded. “Yeah. But I’m super tired now.” she admitted.  
“Yeah, I guess traveling to an alternative universe would do that to you.” Tony whispered, sitting down next to her and manhandling her gently until her head resting in his lab.  
“Is everyone alright?” she asked.  
“Yeah, they are fine. Worried but less, now that you are back. They’re all on their way. Happy is picking up May and Pepper is getting Morgan from day-care. They’ll all be here soon. You can probably squeeze in a nap before they get here though.”  
“I’m sorry you worried.” Penny muttered, her eyes already falling shut.  
“You’re okay. That’s all that matters now.”  
She hummed, snuggling into his side, enjoying the feeling of his fingers playing with her hair.  
The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was his whispered “Glad to have you back kiddo.”  
.  
.  
.  
She awoke to soft whispers all around her.  
“She seriously went to another universe?” asked a familiar voice.  
“Incredible, right?” she heard Tony say from above her.  
“And she is fine?” asked another voice she knew.  
“She broke her arm when she got back but it should be healed in a couple of hours.”  
Penny opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, letting her sense adjust to the light.  
“There she is. Hi Pen.”  
Someone knelt down in front of her and Penny recognized the familiar face of her uncle Rhodey.  
“Hi Mr. Rhodes.” she muttered.  
“Hi Pen. You okay?”  
Penny hummed in agreement.  
“Good. So, I think I speak for all of us when I say that if you ever pull a disappearing act like that ever again, I will put on my suit and knock some sense into you.”  
Penny smiled. “I missed you too.”  
She sat up and looked around.  
Her whole family was gathered in the living room. May approached her with tears in her eyes and hugged her tightly.  
“Don’t cry May. I'm sorry, I didn’t plan for this to happen. And I certainly didn’t plan to be gone five days. It was only like...one day for me tops.” she whispered.  
May shook her head and released her.  
“I’m sorry baby. It was just...it was scary. You were gone. Completely off the map. Like you had never existed.”  
“But I’m back now.” Penny said meekly.  
“Yeah. And let’s keep it like that, shall we?” said Happy darkly from where he stood, arms folded before his chest, his blond curls falling into his face, an unreadable expression on his face.  
“Hey Happy.” she said with a smile. He didn’t exactly smile back.  
“Hi Pen. Good to have you back. But I'm with Rhodey. Do that again and we’re locking you up in some underground bunker where nothing can happen to you.” he said crossly.  
“I think what they mean to say is that they love you and that they are happy to have you back and that they were very scared.” Pepper cut in.  
“Where’s Morgan?” Penny asked, looking around.  
“Nap time.” Tony replied. “But she was very happy to see you. We had to manhandle her to her own bed, she wanted to sleep with you on the couch.”  
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.” she whispered.  
“We know Pen. It’s not your fault, nobody is blaming you. Just...tell someone next time. Or better yet….no touching of strange blue portals to other worlds.” Tony assured her.  
Penny nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”  
“That being said...next time I want to come along.” Happy said, his mood lifting ever so lightly.  
“Oh, you couldn’t handle that universe. You’d be so annoyed by all the little changes. Also, they have no Dunkin Doughnuts. I asked. I googled. I mean I Binged. Bing is their primary search engine there.”  
Happy pulled a face. “Yeah, okay, that does sound terrible.”  
“This...but I thought this can’t happen again.” May asked.  
“Well...Miles said portals like that can always happen. But now I know not to touch them. But he gave me this” she held out her arm with the metal bracelet “so that if need be, I can go over there.”  
“I don’t know if I like that idea Penny.” May whispered.  
“It’s only for emergencies. If Miles needs my help. Or I his.” she tried to assure her aunt.  
“That’s not exactly the territory of a friendly neighbourhood spider though?” Rhodey pointed out.  
“Well...technically it is New York…”  
“Yeah, in another dimension. Absolutely not.” Tony snapped.  
“But what if he needs me?”  
“Then he can call some of his other spider pals.” Tony said firmly.  
“I can’t believe there are more spiders out there.” Rhodey said to Happy.  
“That means there’s versions of us there as well. Did you see some of us?” Pepper pointed out before looking at Penny questioningly.  
Penny hesitated. “Well...I didn’t see Tony but I googled him and he’s a teenager over there and your father is still alive and you’re not Iron Man. There are no Avengers at all.”  
She looked over to May.  
“Before I entirely understood what was happening, I tried to find you” she ignored the pained expression on Mays face when she said that “And I went to our old apartment and…”  
The tears were coming back in my memory.  
May took her in her arms and held her tightly, shushing her sobs.  
“It’s alright Penny, don’t cry.”  
“Ben was there.” Penny sobbed and next to her May froze for just a second.  
“Was he?” her aunt whispered.  
“Yeah. You were watching TV. He was doing that thing where he moved his arms around and blocked the view of the TV.” Penny recalled.  
“That was always annoying, wasn’t it?” May mused.  
Penny managed to laugh.  
“It was good to see him again.” she admitted. “But I wish I could have talked to him.”  
May pressed her cheek against the top of her head. “I know baby, me too.” she sighed.  
There was a moment of silence before Pepper spoke up.  
“What do you say we order some food and celebrate both Penny’s’ homecoming and her birthday?”  
“That is an absolute fabulous idea my love!” Tony agreed, jumping to his feet.  
“What do you say? Pizza? Thai, Mexican? Indian?” he asked, looking around.  
“Why don’t we let Penny decide?” Pepper suggested.  
“Grand idea.”  
pepper rolled her eyes.  
“Well Penny?”  
“How about some burgers?” she said.  
“Best burgers in the city coming up!” Tony declared, already dialling on his phone.  
“Why don’t you rest some more before dinner?” May said to Penny.  
“I feel fine.” Penny protested.  
“And I’d feel better if you stayed on the couch some more.” May said firmly.  
“Listen to your aunt kid.” Happy said.  
“Yeah, me too. That way I can have you in my sight.” Rhodey said, plopping down next to her with the remote in hand.  
“We can watch a movie while we wait.” he suggested.  
Penny sighed, giving in.  
She could understand their need to keep an eye on her and protect her. After everything they must have gone through these past days…  
“I’m gonna let the team know that Penny is safe.” Happy announced.  
“And I will help Pepper set up the table.” May said, leaving the two of them alone.  
So, Penny just relaxed and focused on the movie playing on the screen.  
It was good to be home.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Three days later found her walking into Mr. Delmar’s deli, a small parcel in her hands. It was just a quick stop before her way to the tower for yet another family dinner.  
Her phone buzzed.  
_“Still in this world?”_ She rolled her eyes and shot back: “Yes Happy, still here. I’ll be there, promise.”  
She winced slightly at the wording. That's what she had said last time.  
She put her phone away and approached the counter.  
“Hi Mr. Delmar!” she greeted the man brightly.  
“Penny! My Chica, are you okay?” the man said upon seeing her and stepped out from behind the counter.  
“Your aunt was in here and some guy in a suit, both asking if I had seen you a couple of days ago. They said you were missing!” he asked.  
“Just a huge misunderstanding. My phone died and I was stranded outside the city with no way of telling them where I was. It caused some concern.”  
He squinted at her but nodded, accepting the explanation.  
“Good, then what can I do for you? Nr. 5 with pickles mushed really flat?” he asked.  
She laughed. “No, I'm headed to dinner but I wanted to give you something.”  
She held out the parcel.  
“What? For me? Penny...whatever for?”  
She shrugged. “Just a little thank you for you know...all the pickles you never charge me for and just always being there.” she admitted, blushing slightly.  
He opened the parcel and took out the scarf his counterpart had given Penny in the other universe.  
“Oh Penny, you didn’t have to do that. But thank you.”  
“I just saw it and thought...Mr. Delmar would like something like that.”  
“I do!” he agreed, examining the scarf before putting it around his neck.  
“You know Penny, my mother had a scarf like this years ago but I lost it. This reminds me of it. Thank you.”  
“No, thank you.” she whispered so quietly, he couldn't hear it.  
Her phone buzzed.  
“Big Brother is watching me. I gotta go. See you soon Mr. Delmar.”  
She hurried out the door but not without scratching Murph first.


End file.
